<para>The main distribution site for &kde; is <ulink url="ftp://ftp.kde.org/">ftp.kde.org</ulink>. However, this site is often under heavy load, so you might prefer to use <ulink url="http://download.kde.org/">download.kde.org</ulink> which automatically redirects you to the mirror nearest to you. You can also have a look at the list of <ulink url="http://www.kde.org/ftpmirrors.html"> &kde; mirror sites</ulink>.</para>
<para>Yes, major &Linux; distributions already ship &kde;. As building a distribution takes some time, they might not always contain the latest version, but for a start or to avoid downloading from the Internet, they do provide a good starting point. </para>
<para>You can find an up-to-date list of distributions that ship with &kde; <ulink url="http://www.kde.org/download/distributions.php">here</ulink>. </para>
<para>You can get the latest snapshots from <ulink url="ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/snapshots">ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/snapshots</ulink>. You might also want to consider setting up your own <acronym>CVS</acronym> client in order to maintain the latest snapshot at all times. Please refer to <ulink url="http://developer.kde.org/source/anoncvs.html">Anonymous <acronym>CVS</acronym> and &kde;</ulink> for further information. </para>
<para>&Qt; is a product of the Norwegian company Trolltech. You can always get the latest &Qt; version from their <ulink url="ftp://ftp.trolltech.com">&FTP; server</ulink>.</para>
<para>And with most up-to-date &Linux; distributions, &Qt; is already included. Please see <xref linkend="prerequisites"/> for the version of &Qt; you need.</para>
<para>&Qt; is a C++-based class library to build user interfaces. It also includes many utility classes like string classes and classes to handle input and output. It provides most of the widgets you will see in a &kde; application: menus, buttons, sliders, &etc;. &Qt; is a cross-platform library that allows you to write code that will compile on &UNIX; systems as well as &Windows; and embedded devices. You can learn more about &Qt; at <ulink url="http://www.trolltech.com">http://www.trolltech.com</ulink>.</para>